The Time of Ancient Order
by The Caterpillar
Summary: This galaxy has suffered for so long, but as strange as it may seem, there was in fact a time before the Grox began to carve their path of unmitigated destruction across the stars. There was a time when a proud and noble race stood watch across all of the Aeron Galaxy. A time of unmatched prowess and harmonious existence. This was the time of the Jaxxod Empire.


**The Time of Ancient Order**

Prologue

* * *

A/N: Stand-alone prequel to The Tale of Tesseract.

* * *

The forests of Noxia were unlike anything the exploration team had ever seen. The trees were absolutely enormous, though many said they could hardly be called "trees" at all. It seemed as if their trunks were stretched like taffy from out of the ground, and the tops of these structures seemed as though they had been pulled and swirled and entwined with each other. It was nearly impossible to tell where one began and the other ended. Each "tree" was entwined with, leaning on, and supporting those next to it in an intricate manner. They ranged from blue to white to a light pink, changing and blending in seamless and endless combinations. It was really quite stunning, even to an exploration team of Jaxxod, the most advanced species in the galaxy.

"Have you ever seen anything like this?" asked Sceleris, a Jaxxod of short stature.

"No. I've seen some strange things, but this is definitely different," his companion replied. It was near sunset, and the the soft light shone through the webbed trees. It was actually quite peaceful and beautiful.

"Sceleris! Gallindo! Back on task! We don't want to be here all night!" yelled the Commander. He was an old Jaxxod, and after 700 years in service, he was just about ready to retire. Rumor had it that he wanted Lt. Captain Denvill Gallindo to eventually take his place, but that Sceleris wanted the job more than Gallindo. Despite this, Sceleris and Gallindo were the best of friends.

"One of these days, that old Jax will be screaming at us, and then bam. Mid sentence, he's just gonna drop dea-"

"Ssh! He'll hear you!" Sceleris interrupted quietly. "He can still put the hurt on both of us, you know."

"Yeah, I'd like to see him try." Gallindo laughed. "You're just worried about not getting your promot-"

There was no warning.

Just the sound of an otherworldly crackling.

The two Jaxxod looked up, and to their astonishment, they saw that the trees, or whatever they were, were moving. The tangles of the branches, which formerly seemed hopelessly entwined, were now shifting and stretching without seeming to pull or damage the others. The explorers were mesmerized by the sight, but before they realized it, a brand new trunk sprung out of the ground, right between Sceleris and Gallindo.

"Whoa! Denvill, quick! Let's get back to the ship! We shouldn't be out here at night like this!" Sceleris yelled, just before activating his teleport device.

"Got it!" He pressed a button on his own wrist-teleporter. Nothing happened.

Now Denvill was terrified... was he stuck here_ alone?_

"Computer, scan for comrade life signals."

_"Life signals out of reach. High probability of their departure via teleportation._"

"What? That's impossible." Gallindo tried messing with the buttons on his wrist-teleporter again. Nothing. "That can't be, there's no way." The Jaxxod technology in his transporter had never failed before. It had never failed_ anyone_ before. That a piece of perfectly good equipment manufactured on Xorgo would cease to be of use was simply unfathomable. To Denvill's ultimate surprise, not only was his teleport device out, but his communicator was completely kaput too. There was nothing. Not even static, a sound nobody had heard in centuries.

"Okay, okay. No big deal." Gallindo muttered to himself. "They'll know something's up, and then come get me." He sat down. The colorful web-like trees around him kept stretching back and forth, but not so vigorously as , he now noticed that the tree structures seemed to be moving closer. The trees were closing up all the paths around him, save for one.

"Well then. Looks like I won't be able to stay."

Gallindo stood up. He was not ordinarily one to panic, but with the loss of his technology, his crew, wherever they were, and the freaky trees closing up all around him, he had no choice but to start walking... in the only direction that was available to him.

He definitely did not want to be stuck here alone at night, which was approaching rather quickly.

He made his way through the jungled area, taking what seemed to be the only path, as the the taffy-like structures around it were too close together to get through. It was like the forest was leading him somewhere. He hoped that he would eventually find his way back to the ship, or find someone from his crew. Previous scans of the planet found no sentient inhabitants, so help from any natives was out of the question. Gallindo couldn't help but think of his family back on Xorgo. He thought of his beautiful wife and their small son Stekvan. He realized he missed them both dearly.

After walking for a few more minutes, by which time the planet was in almost complete darkness, Gallindo began to feel the deep chill of the night. His flashlight was no use, and neither was anything else even remotely powered by technology, which was basically everything he had in his possession. For the first time in his life, the young Jaxxod had nothing at all to depend on but his own mind and body. There was nothing else but the ground he stumbled over and the trees he stumbled into. He felt cold, such that he had never felt before. Strong winds and a thin standard uniform with a dead temperature stabilizer didn't help much either.

Gallindo found it harder to walk. Harder to breathe. His joints were stiff, and he knew it was only going to get colder before it got warmer. There had never been any training for this. What use were survival skills when you had the most advanced technology in the Aeron Galaxy? The very basics were covered in school, sure. How to negotiate, how to, how to... he couldn't remember. Gallindo was about ready to give up hope. He would have lied down where he stood and tried to make it until morning, if possible, except something caught his eye that stopped him.

A light. A tiny, solitary light was just barely visible up ahead. Gallindo was puzzled by it, but all the same, he was drawn and walked towards it. He could feel a comforting warmth emanating from whatever it was. Upon coming closer the glare began to clear and he was able to make out the source of the light.

It was a staff. A shining golden staff.

What was strange to him wasn't the staff itself, but rather the fact that it was somehow floating in midair. There definitely wasn't an anti-gravity field around it... It seemed to hold itself above the ground with no external forces acting on it.

Everything felt too real to be a hallucination.

The staff itself was brilliant gold in color, with a top that split into two mirrored curves. At the base of the curves was a shining gem which somehow provided the light he saw from far away. At this close range it was almost too difficult to look at.

When he was finally close enough, Denvill reached out one of his arms. There was a growing urge to touch the surface of the Staff... a sensation that seemed to radiate from the depths of his being. When he did, it generated a rush of relief and calm like he had never felt before. His isolation from his crew, the growing inhospitable conditions of the world around him... none of it mattered anymore. He knew he was safe.

The surface of the golden staff was warm and comforting. It was like nothing Denvill had ever experienced in the entirety of his life as a Jaxxod explorer. The nature of the object before him was beyond comprehensible. It was such a strange sensation. He felt almost..tiny in comparison to the glowing Staff.

The ever-present, ever-shining, all-encompassing _Staff of Life._

* * *

Little Stekvan Gallindo sat in his mother's lap as he attempted to read to her. The little holographic screen had nice big fonts and a miniature animation that did a little dance every time he finished a sentence. It was quite enjoyable for him.

"Now let's read the next one, honey," his mother said.

"Okay. The...um, the ee-co-sys-tem was very-"

The large hologram screen in the living room began to beep and display an incoming call.

It was the Commander.

"Hello, ma'am," he said rather gruffly.

"Commander. This is...unexpected."

"Yes. I'm sure it is. You see, the thing is... ah..." The elderly Jaxxod let out a sigh, betraying his air of superiority. "May I come in, Mrs. Gallindo?" he asked.

"Yes, sir. Of course." She approved his teleport request, and in seconds, he was right there in her living room. Technically the Commander had access to almost every teleport in the world, but it was common courtesy to ask first.

"May I ask what this is about?" Mrs. Gallindo asked nervously. She knew that one of the most renowned and senior commanders in the Jaxxod forces did not show up at somebody's doorstep for nothing.

"You see, the thing is.. .well... I'm afraid I don't quite know how to put this. It's not an easy thing you see. We haven't had anything like this since I was in cadet school. And that was a long, long, long-"

"Commander, please," Mrs. Gallindo anxiously interrupted, "Just tell me what's going on." He let out a long sigh in response. He sat silently for a moment before he tilted his head down towards the floor and spoke again.

"Your husband has been in a terrible accident."


End file.
